Evaluating Sources

All information is NOT created equal.

You know by now that not all information is truthful and unbiased. Part of your role as a student and as a citizen is to think critically and determine the accuracy of information. You can evaluate books based on the reputation of the publisher and the credentials of the author. Information published in scholarly journals is more credible than what is published in popular magazines.

The Library offers you databases of articles because they provide you with a wide range of sources that can be easily documented. Evaluating Websites can be a more difficult task because anyone can publish on the Internet.

The following links will help you evaluate the sources you use for your research paper.

• Evaluating Sources - Purdue University
• Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask - University of California Berkeley Library
• Source Evaluation Guide
• Scholarly vs. Trade vs. Magazines
• AI, Internet, and Databases
• Website Evaluation Worksheet

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